[EDITORIALS]Prepare for acts of nature

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[EDITORIALS]Prepare for acts of nature

Typhoon Rusa has swept through the country, leaving a trail of heavy damage. The typhoon was very destructive in the southern region: Numerous houses are now submerged and banks, which gave way to the swelling rivers, did little to protect the farmland. Roads and railroads have been destroyed by floods or buried in landslides caused by the storm, cutting off transportation and communication routes from the flooded areas. Heavy winds added to the damage.

Though there has yet to be an accurate survey, it is estimated that Typhoon Rusa has caused the highest amount of storm damage in decades. Residents of the Gimhae region in South Gyeongsang province were hit by the typhoon even before they had time to recover from flooding brought from heavy rain that struck them three weeks ago.

Rusa, named after a kind of deer in Malaysia, is said to be the biggest typhoon in speed, strength and the amount of damage caused since Typhoon Sara, which struck in 1959. Rusa dumped nearly 900 millimeters of rain in Gangneung, setting a record of 80 millimeters of rainfall per hour. This is the first storm in this region that has come near to being called a natural disaster. This is another occurrence of unusual weather, following the concentrated rain in South Gyeongsang province last month.

However, the flood disaster should not be considered an inevitable act of nature. An unexpected change in the weather every year can no longer be called unexpected. Measures can be taken to prevent or at least alleviate damage. Long-term measures are necessary to prepare for unexpected and unusual weather phenomenon. As for now, an accurate assessment of the damage and relief measures is urgent. The utmost efforts should be made to help the flood victims return to their daily lives. Repairs of the infrastructure should also be pursued speedily and effectively with the long-term objective of preventing disaster from striking again.

It is time for the entire nation, the public, the bureaucrats and the military as well as the government to join hands and show the compassion and spirit we demonstrated two months ago during the World Cup. The National Assembly should not hesitate to allocate money for the relief measures.
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